Process for forming on surface of articles relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height shape and disposition smoothly changing from one into the other, and devices for accomplishing same

ABSTRACT

The invention is concerned with processes related to changing the relief of an article surface by way of introducing into the surface layer of said article a hard deforming member. The invention makes it possible to form on the surface of articles a relief whose projections rise above recesses to a value of the order of tens of microns.

States Schneider Sept. 5, 1972 [54] PROCESS FOR FORMING ON [56]References Cited SURFACE OF ARTICLES LIEF UNITED STATES PATENTSFEATURING PROJECTIONS AND 5,237,887 7/1941 Nasc1mben1 53/90 ,7 1 u l l nu v n l l n e l n a I n n l I n I: 2,977,681 4/1961 Cadman et a1 ..33/21CHANGING FROM ONE INTO THE 887,553 5/1908 Wadsworth ..33/21 OTHER ANDDEVICES FOR 3,220,087 11/1965 Schwarz ..29/90 ACCOMPLISHING SAME 629,2457/1899- Frank 72/75 72 Inventor; Jul-y Gdalievich Schneider, prospekt1,794,797 3/ 1931 Rockwell ..72/75 Stachek 134 19 Leningrad, 2,048,5987/1936 ChriStianScn ..72/75 U.S.S.R. Primary Examiner-Lowell A. Larson[73] Ass1gnee: Leningradsky Y Institut Tochnoi A;t0mey Ho]man & StemMekhanoki i Optiki, Leningrad, U.S.S.R. 57 ABSCT Filed! y 6, 1970 Theinvention is concerned with processes related to changing the relief ofan article surface by way of in- [21] Appl' 4055i troducing into thesurface layer of said article a hard deforming member. The inventionmakes it possible to [52] US. Cl. ..72/74, 72/75, 72/80 form on thesurface of articles a relief whose projec- [51] Int. Cl. ..B21d 31/00tions rise above recesses to a value of the order of tens [58] Field ofSearch ..72/73, 74, 75, 80, 81, 406, of microns.

33 1 2 2 27 5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Ffl l8 7 I? /v 29 117 7 9 l5 1I I1 I! PATENTEDsEP 5 m2 3.688.537

SHEET u (If a ditions of fluid lubrication, for treating parts whichshould possess stable light-reflecting properties, as well as fortreating parts operating under conditions of friction.

In addition, said processes and devices help restore the dimensions ofworn out precision parts manufactured from scarce materials.

The processes according to the invention provide for rotary orprogressive movement of the part being treated and, respectively, forprogressive or rotary movement of a spring-biased sphere-shapeddeforming member, so that the direction of movement of the articleportion being treated be at an angle to the direction of movement of thedeforming member. Simultaneously, the deforming member performsreciprocation in the direction of its progressive movement or, in thecase of rotary movement, along the radius drawn from the rotation axisof said member to the point of its introduction into the article body.

The present invention relates to processes for changing the relief ofthe surface of a solid by way of introducing into the surface layer ofsaid solid a hard deforming member and, more particularly, it relates toprocesses for forming on the surface of such articles a relief featuringprojections and recesses of uniform height, shape and disposition,smoothly changing from one into the other, and to devices foraccomplishing said processes. The invention makes it possible to form onthe surface of articles a relief whose projections rise above adjacentrecesses to a height on the order of tens of microns.

The processes and devices according to the present invention can be mostadvantageously employed for treating parts rubbing against rubbersealing under conditions of fluid lubrication, for treating parts whichshould possess stable light-reflecting properties, as well as fortreating parts operating under conditions of friction.

At present, relief on the surface of solids, featuring projections andrecesses which are relatively uniform in height, shape and disposition,is formed on parts designed for being held, turned or linearly displacedby the operator manually. Simultaneously, such a relief servesdecorative purposes. The height of the relief projections is no lessthan 0.5 mm.

The relief is formed by introducing into the surface layer of an articlebeing treated a deforming member whose hardness exceeds that of thesurface layer material of the article. The deforming member is usually aroller with projections and recesses corresponding to the desiredrelief, and the article presenting a solid of rotation rotates relativeto said roller which is forced against the article. The difficulty ofmanufacturing such a roller is obvious, while the problem boils down toobtaining a nice-looking rough surface featuring a uniform pattern.

In the case of flat-shaped bodies which are not solids of rotation, therelief is formed by rolling said roller under pressure on the surface ofthe bodies or by planing on a planing machine, which is ratherinefficient.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the above-mentioneddisadvantages of said known processes and devices.

The invention is aimed at the solution of the technical problem ofdeveloping a highly efficient process for forming on the surface of asolid a relief featuring projections and recesses uniform in height,shape and disposition and smoothly changing from one into the other, aswell as a device for accomplishing said process, that provides for theuse of a simple springbiased deforming member performing such a movementwhich, in combination with the article movement, facilitates theformation of the relief projections and recesses by forcing out part ofthe material from the body into the projections.

It is no less important to obtain rounded projections and recesses,which helps to improve the quality of sealing under conditions of fluidfriction of metal parts againstrubber.

In the solution of these and other problems of the invention, asphere-shaped body used as the deforming member is simultaneouslyimparted two movements, of which one is progressive and parallel to therotational axis of the article being treated, while the second movementis a reciprocating movement along or parallel to said first movement.The rate of the first movement should be sufficiently low so that noseparate, i.e., disconnected, grooves are formed on the article surfacenor any portions of the initial surface are left untreated, while theforce of introducing the sphere-shaped body should be sufficiently greatto effect forcing out of the material from the surface layer of thearticle into projections thus formed. In such a manner a relief can beformed on curvilinear surfaces of solids, for example, outer and innersurfaces of a hollow cylinder can be treated in this manner.

On the end faces of a solid of rotation, according to the invention, therelief is formed by simultaneously imparting to the deforming member twomovements, the first of which, a progressive one, is normal to andcrossing the rotational axis of the article being treated, while thesecond movement is reciprocation along or parallel to the first one.

On the surface of an article other than a solid of rotation the reliefis formed by simultaneously imparting to the deforming member twomovements, the first of which is a rotary movement about a stationaryaxis normal to the direction of the article movement, while the secondmovement is reciprocation along a radius drawn from said stationary axisto the point of introduction of the deforming member.

In order to accomplish the process of forming relief on the curvilinearsurface of a solid of rotation, use is made of a device comprising: aholder of an article being treated, connected with a drive adapted toimpart rotary movement to said holder; a base on which is secured aholder for a spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, said basebeing connected with a drive imparting to said base progressive movementalong the rotational axis of the article holder; a drive for thedeforming member holder, mounted on the base and imparting to the latterholder reciprocating movement along the direction of the base movement.At the same time, the spring of the deforming member is provided with aconventional means for adjusting the degree of its compression and,consequently, the force with which the deforming member penetrates intothe surface layer of the article being treated so that the material ofthe latter layer is forced out into projections being thus formed.

A device used for forming relief on the end faces of solids of rotationdiffers from the aforedescribed one only in that said base performs aprogressive movement across the rotational axis of the article holderinstead of along said axis.

An essential advantage of the process and devices according to theinvention consists in that they make it possible to form a relief on arelatively great surface within an extremely short period of time andemploying relatively simple means.

The present invention will be more apparent upon considering a detaileddescription of the process according to the invention for forming onsurfaces of solids a relief featuring projections and recesses uniformin height, shape and disposition and smoothly changing from one into theother, as well as of an article treated in accordance with the processof the invention and devices for accomplishing said process, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic diagrams of movement of the deforming memberand articles, according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 in enlarged view shows a surface with a relief formed inaccordance with the process of the invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 graphically show irregularities of an article surfaceplotted prior to and after the treatment, according to the invention,respectively;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of a device for accomplishing the processillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a device for accomplishing the processillustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of a device for accomplishing the processillustrated in FIG. 3.

The present invention provides for the use of a sphere-shaped deformingmember 1 (FIG. I) which is essentially a hardened steel ball or asphere-shaped diamond sealed in a steel rod. The deforming member 1 ispressed, with a sufficiently great force, by means of a spring (notshown in the drawings) to the outer curvilinear surface of an article 2,the latter being essentially a solid of rotation and illustrated ascomprising a cylinder. The article is imparted rotary motion. about itslongitudinal axis A--A in the direction of arrow B, and the deformingmember together with its spring is imparted progressive motion parallelto the AA axis, as is shown by arrow S. Simultaneously, the deformingmember is imparted reciprocation, as shown by arrows N, directed alongthe direction of said progressive motion.

As a result of these movements, the deforming member I describes a sinecurve arranged along a spiral. In order that no separate or disconnectedgrooves be formed in the surface layer and that the article material beforced out into projections of uniform height, shape and disposition, itis necessary that the rate of the progressive movement of the deformingmember in the direction of arrow S be sufficiently low. This requiresthe observance of the condition where S is the feed in the direction ofarrow 5, mm per revolution;

L is defined as i d/h, where d is the diameter of the deforming member,in mm, and h is the depth to which said member is introduced into thesurface layer of an article, in mm;

p is the amplitude of the reciprocating movement of the deforming memberalong arrows N, in mm;

1' is defined as N/n, where N is the number of the deforming memberdouble strokes per minute along arrows N, and n is the article r.p.m.

For forming a relief on the inner curvilinear surface of a hollowarticle 3 (FIG. 2), the latter article and the deforming member I. areimparted the same movements as those performed by the article 2 and thedeforming member I when accomplishing the process illustrated in FIG. I.

The relief on a flat end face surface of the article 2 (FIG. 3) isformed by imparting to the article 2 rotation about its longitudinalaxis AA, whereas the deforming member 1 is imparted progressive movementacross the article rotational axis A-A, as shown by arrow 5, as well asreciprocating movement in the directions of arrows N along saidprogressive movement.

On the flat surface of an article 4 (FIG. 4), which is not a solid ofrotation, relief is formed by imparting to the article a progressivemovement along arrow 5 and to the deforming member 1 a rotary movementabout stationary axis p--p' normal to the progressive movement of thearticle 4. Concurrently with the rotary motion, the deforming member Iis imparted reciprocating movement along radius r drawn from the p-p'axis to the point of introduction of the deforming member 1 into thesurface layer of the article 4, as is shown by arrows N.

As a result of accomplishing the processes illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4,on the article surface there is formed a relief (FIG. 5) featuringrecesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changingfrom one into the other.

Irregularities (FIG. 6) on the initial surface of an article are turnedinto a relief having a regular sine-shaped cross-section, as is shown inFIG. 7.

In order to accomplish the process illustrated in FIG. I, use is made ofa device comprising a conventional holder 5 (FIG. 8) for the deformingmember I, made as a bent or L-shaped bar. The bar is mounted with theaid of a pin 6 in a sleeve 7 connected by means of a bolt 8 and nut 9with a link 10. The link 10 is mounted on an eccentric 11 with the aidof a bearing 12. The eccentric l I is rotated by an electric motor 12mounted on a base 14.

Secured on the same base is a guide member 15 in which the sleeve 7 isguided for reciprocation in the directions of arrows N.

Concurrently with the latter movement, the base 14 is impartedprogressive movement in the direction of arrow 5 with the aid of afurther drive (not shown in the drawings). On its free end the holder 5is provided with a node in the form of a head 16 wherein, on a pin 17,is mounted a bearing 18. On its outside the head is provided with athread on which is screwed a cover 19 having a tapered opening 20. Thelatter opening houses the spherical deforming member 1. Since theminimum diameter of the opening 20 is less than the diameter of thedeforming member 1, the latter is retained by the cover 19 and does notfall out in operation. The distance between the bearing 18 and cover 19is selected such that the ball should not be jammed. Thereupon, thecover is locked in place by means of a lock nut 21.

In the wall of the sleeve 7, on the side opposite to that on which thehead 16 is positioned, provision is made of a threaded opening in whicha chuck 22 is screwed. The chuck 22 houses a spring 23 bearing at oneend against the chuck movable bottom 24 fashioned as a threaded plugscrewed into the lower portion of the chuck, which is threaded on theinside. At its other end the spring 23 is thrust against a pin 25 which,in its turn, is thrust against a recess 26 made in the holder 5. Thearticle 2 is held between clamps or centers 27, of which one is drivenabout the A-A axis in the direction of arrow B by means of a drive (notshown in the drawings). The article 2 and the second clamp 27 therebyalso rotate.

In order to keep the sleeve 7 from turning in the guide member 15, thelatter is provided with a threaded opening adapted to receive a screw 28locked in place by means of a lock nut 29. The screw 28 is accommodatedby a port 30 provided in the sleeve 7.

For accomplishing the process illustrated in FIG. 2, use is made of adevice differing from the aforedescribed one in that the holder 5a (FIG.9) is made as a rectilinear bar, while the head 16a is a separate partscrewed in a threaded opening provided in the holder 5a. This helps drawthe deforming member closer to the longitudinal axis of the holder and,consequently, makes for the possibility of treating relatively smallhollow parts.

Clamps 31 and 32 are essentially rings coupled with the aid of bolts 33and nuts 34.

In order to form a relief on the end faces of solids of rotation inaccordance with the process illustrated in FIG. 3, provision is made ofa device differing from the one shown in FIG. 8 in that the base 14 FIG.10) is turned through 90 with respect to the article rotational axis A-Aand moves across said axis. A holder 35 for the article 2 is essentiallya chuck similar to that generally used in turning lathes.

In the devices shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the movable bottom 24 of thechuck 22 is designed for varying the force with which the deformingmember 1 penetrates the surface layer of the article being treated.

Relief formed in accordance with the present invention on steel partsinteracting with rubber sealing under conditions of fluid lubricationhelps considerably improve the quality of sealing and prolong itsservice life. In addition, the processes and devices of the presentinvention make for restoring the dimensions of worn out precision partsmanufactured from scarce materials, as well as for forming surfacespossessing desired lightreflecting properties.

I claim:

1. A process for forming on the curvilinear surface of an article beingessentially a solid of rotation a relief featuring projections andrecesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changingfrom one into the other, said process comprising the steps ofintroducing into the surface layer of a rotatable article being treateda spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, simultaneously impartingtwo movements to the deforming member, of which one is progressive andparallel to the rotation axis of said article being treated, while thesecond movement is reciprocation along said first movement; at the sametime, controlling the rate of said first movement to be sufficiently lowso that no separate grooves are formed on the surface of said articlenor any portions of the initial surface are left untreated, while theforce of introducing said sphereshaped member is controlled to besufficiently great to effect forcing out the material from the surfacelayer of said article into the projections being thus formed.

2. A process for forming on the end face of an article being essentiallya solid of rotation a relief featuring projections and recesses ofuniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one intothe other, said process comprising the steps of introducing in the endface of a rotatable article being treated a springbiased sphere-shapeddeforming member, imparting simultaneously two movements to thedeforming member, the first of which is a progressive movement normal toand crossing the rotation axis of said article being treated, while thesecond movement is reciprocation along said first movement; at the sametime, controlling the rate of said first movement to be sufficiently lowso that no separate grooves are formed on the surface of said articlenor any portions of the initial surface are left untreated, while theforce of introducing said deforming member is controlled to besufficiently great to effect forcing out the material from the surfacelayer of said article into the projections being thus formed.

3. A process for forming on the surface of a solid article of arbitraryshape a relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height,shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one into the other, saidprocess comprising the steps of introducing into the surface layer of aprogressively displaceable article being treated a sphere-shapeddeforming member, simultaneously imparting two movements to thedeforming member, the first of which is a rotary movement about astationary axis normal to the direction of movement of said article,while the second movement is reciprocation along a radius drawn fromsaid stationary axis to the point of introduction of said deformingmember into said surface layer of said article.

4. A device for forming on the curvilinear surface of an article beingessentially a solid of rotation a relief featuring projections andrecesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changingfrom one into the other, by way of introducing into the surface layer ofa rotatable article being treated a spring-biased sphere-shapeddeforming member, said device comprising: a holder of said article beingtreated, connected with a drive adapted to impart rotary movement tosaid holder; a base on which is secured a holder of said spring-biasedsphere-shaped deforming member, said base being connected with a driveserving to impart thereto a progressive movement along the rotation axisof said holder of said article; a drive of said holder of said deformingmember, mounted on said base and serving to impart to the latter holdera reciprocating movement along the direction of movement of said base;the spring of said deforming member being provided with a conventionalmeans adapted to adjust the degree of its compression and, consequently,the force with which said deforming member penetrates the surface layerof said article being controlled so that the material of the latterlayer be forced out into the projections being thus formed.

5. A device for forming on the end face of an article being essentiallya solid of rotation a relief featuring projections and recesses ofuniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one intothe other, by way of introducing in the end face of a rotatable articlebeing treated a spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, saiddevice comprising: a holder of said article being treated, connectedwith a drive adapted to impart rotary movement to said holder; a base onwhich is secured a holder of said spring-biased sphere-shaped deformingmember, said base being connected with a drive serving to impart theretoa progressive movement across the rotation axis of said holder of saidarticle; a drive of said holder of said deforming member, mounted onsaid base and serving to impart to the latter holder a reciprocatingmovement along the direction of movement of said base; the spring ofsaid deforming member being provided with a conventional means adaptedto adjust the degree of its compression and, consequently, the forcewith which said deforming member penetrates the surface layer of saidarticle being treated so that the material of the latter layer be forcedout into the projections being thus formed fl i

1. A process for forming on the curvilinear surface of an article being essentially a solid of rotation a relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one into the other, said process comprising the steps of introducing into the surface layer of a rotatable article being treated a spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, simultaneously imparting two movements to the deforming member, of which one is progressive and parallel to the rotation axis of said article being treated, while the second movement is reciprocation along said first movement; at the same time, controlling the rate of said first movement to be sufficiently low so that no separate grooves are formed on the surface of said article nor any portions of the initial surface are left untreated, while the force of introducing said sphere-shaped member is controlled to be sufficiently great to effect forcing out the material from the surface layer of said article into the projections being thus formed.
 2. A process for forming on the end face of an article being essentially a solid of rotation a relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one into the other, said process comprising the steps of introducing in the end face of a rotatable article being treated a spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, imparting simultaneously two movements to the deforming member, the first of which is a progressive movement normal to and crossing the rotation axis of said article being treated, while the second movement is reciprocation along said first movement; at the same time, controlling the rate of said first movement to be sufficiently low so that no separate grooves are formed on the surface of said article nor any portions of the initial surface are left untreated, while the force of introducing said deforming member is controlled to be sufficiently great to effect forcing out the material from the surface layer of said article into the projections being thus formed.
 3. A process for forming on the surface of a solid article of arbitrary shape a relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one into the other, said process comprising the steps of introducing into the surface layer of a progressively displaceable article being treated a sphere-shaped deforming member, simultaneously imparting two movements to the deforming member, the first of which is a rotary movement about a stationary axis normal to the direction of movement of said article, while the secoNd movement is reciprocation along a radius drawn from said stationary axis to the point of introduction of said deforming member into said surface layer of said article.
 4. A device for forming on the curvilinear surface of an article being essentially a solid of rotation a relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one into the other, by way of introducing into the surface layer of a rotatable article being treated a spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, said device comprising: a holder of said article being treated, connected with a drive adapted to impart rotary movement to said holder; a base on which is secured a holder of said spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, said base being connected with a drive serving to impart thereto a progressive movement along the rotation axis of said holder of said article; a drive of said holder of said deforming member, mounted on said base and serving to impart to the latter holder a reciprocating movement along the direction of movement of said base; the spring of said deforming member being provided with a conventional means adapted to adjust the degree of its compression and, consequently, the force with which said deforming member penetrates the surface layer of said article being controlled so that the material of the latter layer be forced out into the projections being thus formed.
 5. A device for forming on the end face of an article being essentially a solid of rotation a relief featuring projections and recesses of uniform height, shape and disposition, smoothly changing from one into the other, by way of introducing in the end face of a rotatable article being treated a spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, said device comprising: a holder of said article being treated, connected with a drive adapted to impart rotary movement to said holder; a base on which is secured a holder of said spring-biased sphere-shaped deforming member, said base being connected with a drive serving to impart thereto a progressive movement across the rotation axis of said holder of said article; a drive of said holder of said deforming member, mounted on said base and serving to impart to the latter holder a reciprocating movement along the direction of movement of said base; the spring of said deforming member being provided with a conventional means adapted to adjust the degree of its compression and, consequently, the force with which said deforming member penetrates the surface layer of said article being treated so that the material of the latter layer be forced out into the projections being thus formed. 